Concrete-mixer.



A. W. HMWSMIE.

UMGREFE FMMEH.

Awucmwu man nmz sa. me.

3 SHEETS-SNEEK l..

A. w. awsome.- CONCRETE MIXER.

APPLICATIN FILED JUNE 30| 191,6-

Patented 3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

' of certainty the effect of t will ARTHUR wILrJaIn nANsoME, or rLAINrrELn, New JaasErnssIG-Non 'ro aaiasoMEV CONCRETE MACHINERY COMPANY, 0F DUNELLEN, NEW J'ERSEYHA CORPORATION l OF NEW JERSEY.

CONCRETE-MIXER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application mea June ao, 191e. serial No. 106,754.

mixing concrete and the like, and particu-v larly to machines consisting of a revoluble drum adapted to be charged and discharged and provided with blades, shelves or scoops by which the concrete aggregates are agitated and mixed while the drum is revolving. Machines of this character have been in use for many years, and some of them have Vproved highly'eicient both as to the quantity and quality of the mixing. As the concrete art advances, however, and as, existing concrete structures enable engineers in thls line to determine with a hi her degree e various methods of mixing and theA formulas employed therein, new methods and materials and new systems of supplying and distributing the materials and the concrete mixture are devised to overcome diiiculties, remedy defectsin some cases made apparent only by the lapse of time-andeifect economies in the carrying on of this work. lln fact the art of making and utilizing concrete has developed into a science, and it is now realized that only by a careful and intelligent study of the surrounding conditions and requirements of each concrete structure and an adaptation of the materials and the mixing thereof to meet these conditions and requirements can the bestl results be obtained.'

One of the most important factors in concrete work is the mixer, ment of mixers of the character referred to to a point where they will respond to the re.- quirements of various kinds of work and produce a thorough, certain and dependable mixer in all cases, and at the same time operate with a minimum expenditure of power and labor has been the aim of those engaged in developing such apparatus. llt

quirements and exhaustive experimentation with apparatus of this kind may-fail to dis-y close means for producing a quick and thorough mixing of the ingredients under all conditions with a minimum cost for and the develope seen that a careful study of the re- Patent-ed Mar. 27, 1MM'.

power; and I believe that heretofore no.-

mixer has been designed which approximates theone which is the sub`ect of the present improvements in the fu flment of these requirements. A machine which will save a certain amount of horsepower per day, will operate with infallible certainty on various aggregates and will ed'ect the mixing of a given quantity of concrete in a shorter time than other machines, thereby e'ecting a saving in labor and other items,

as well as power, is an extremely valuable device. If a machine of this character effects a saving of even a dollar a day or substantially three hundred dollars per year its value is at least double that of other mixers, and when this saving is multiplied by thousands per year, for the number of mixers in use the immense value of an invention productive of such results will be apparent.

In carrying out the present im rovements the blades are so constructed an arranged that the aggregates are worked in iar, and heretofore unattained, manner, and regardless of their particular character ,or the relative proportions `of the various ingredients used, are intermingled, turned over and intimatel mixed under the most advantageous con itions in .a relatively short time and at an expenditure of a relatively small amount of power. These results-are attained by the invention herein'- after described and claimed and illustrated in the accom ,anyin drawings.

vIn the sai d'rawln Figure 1 is a side elevation from the ischarge end of the drum, the drum casing being taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2, and the point of view indicated by the arrows in that figure.

a peoul- Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the,

longitudinal axis of the drum substantially .on the line 2 2 of Fig. ll.

head A2 and theA discharge head Al prothe charging would be reprevided with the charging opening A"L and discharge opening A5 respectively, through which the machine is charged and discharged by suitable devices for that purpose. It also has traction rings E and E upon which it revolves, rollers F being provided therefor.

Within the drum A and secured to the inner walls thereof are blades B, C, and D. In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings there are four of -each kind of blades, that is to say four blades B, four blades C, and four blades D, and these blades are so located with respect to the inside periphery of the drum that given parts of all four blades of each kind are ninety degrees removed from corresponding parts of fthe adjacent blades and diametrically opposite corresponding parts of the fourth blade. The blades B and D are secured to the drum cylinder A the former by means of small angular pieces G, having one flange riveted to the blade and the other to the said cylinder, and the latter by similar pieces G secured in the same manner.1 The blades C are secured by like members Gr2 to the bowed medial portion of the blades D at one end and at the other end to the inner end of said blades, and at their outer edge by having a turned over portion C riveted thereto. The blades B are also secured to the charging head of the drum by having their outer Aturned ends Bf riveted thereto.

The blades B extend from the head of the drum on a line oblique to its longitudinal axis to a point a short distance beyond the middle thereof and taper in width from the end joined to the said head to the other extremity of the blade, At the head the width is approximately equal to the distance between the charging opening at the center of the head and the periphery of said head and at the opposite end the width of the blade is substantially equal to half its width at the head. One edge of the blade is in contact with the inner surface of the drum cylinder A', and the mean position of the blade edgewise is substantially radial with respect to saidv cylinder. It is twisted or turned, however, edgewise so that at a point near its inner end and about midway of the length of the drum it is radial while between that point and the head it intersects the radii of the drum at angles gradually increasing toward the head, and its extreme outer end is slightly oblique thereto in another direction. The blades thus have a twist resembling in a degree the twist of ordinary propeller blades, and one of their functions is to propel the material falling within their influence from the charging head to the center of the drum.

The blades D are stirrup-shaped scoops and are also in contact with the inner surface of they cylinder A. Their ends nearest the discharge head are connected therewith by means of a screw-bolt H passing through the head and through the blade near its end and at the same time spaced a short dis-` tance apart. These scoop blades are of much greater width medially than at their ends, and the end next to the discharge head is wider than the opposite end, which is a little beyond the middle of the drum and nearer to the charging head. It will thus be seen that the blades B and D overlap each other through a portion of their length and that they, therefore, as the drum rotates act on materials in the middle of the drum simultaneously.

The blades C are shelf-like in form and are joined at one end to the convex medial part of the blades D intermediate the edges of the latter and at the opposite end to the extremity of the said blades at their upper edges. This gives their upper surface a position substantially normal to the outer surface of the blades to which they vare joined. They have a pitch, however, toward the charging end of the drum which gives them a tendency to direct the aggregates falling thereon toward that end and within the infiuence of the blades B. This action is more pronounced on account of the inclination of the shelf blades C with respect to the longitudinal axis of the drum which causes them to intersect the falling aggregates at an angle to their movement. It is thus apparent that whether the aggregates slide from the scoops D as they rise or fall from them at the top of the drum they are deflected backward toward the charging head of the drum by these blades and caused to fall on the aggregates passing inwardly along the blades B.

The movements of the materials under the influence of the drum are various and complex, but the main outlines only need be described. The aggregates entering the charging head are taken up by the broader portion of the propeller blades B and moved toward the middle of the drum as they are lifted. At the same time, on account of the decreasing width of the blades D and their twist a portion of the aggregates slides ofl the blades and falls upon the mass in the bottom of the drum near the charging end as the blade rises. The portion of the mixture discharged from the extreme inner end passes beneath the shelf blade C and-is taken up by the scoop blade D, and the portion which passes from the medial part of said blade in an inward direction will strike the said blade C and return with the aggregates passing over the said blade from the scoo s D. The materials taken up at the bottom y these scoops begin to flow from them as they rise from the bottom, a large part of it maratea ward the head of the drum and part of it mingling with the materials discharged from ing 1n the scoops until they pass midheight falls sheer to the bottom and strikes the portions of theblades inthe bottom disposed at ran angle of ninety thel lportion charged above.

degrees and greater to It will be seen from this 4 that with the aggregates in the drum moving in'these various directions a thorough inter-v mingling of the various materials and an intimate contact of all the materials with all the other materials is brought about, and this without regard to the relative size,c0n sistency and specificY gravity of the said4 materials. It will also be seen that as the greater part of the mixing movements are produced without elevating the materials or ,aggregates to the top of the drum a large amount ofpower, which would otherwise be expended in the lifting of the materials, is saved, while at the same time they are not so violently agitated as to give to the heavier parts a more rapid movement or tend to separate them, or collectvthem in any part of the mixer. This not only improves the mixpart of it from being ture but prevents one discharged before the other. It also distributes the mixture in the mixing operation throughout the length of the drum so that substantially the full capacity of the drum may be utilized.

When it is desired to discharge the drum a c discharge chute or] other device suitable for that purpose may be inserted through the discharge opening A5 to catch the mixture as it falls from the scoops D, which will very quickly take up and dump on the said discharge chute the entire contents of the drum so that an evenly mixed batch of concrete is quickly and thoroughly delivered. Another great advantage of the blades herein described and shown resides in the fact that there are no sharp corners or crevices in which the aggregates may lodge. This not only insures a clean discharge of the mixer but prevents the formation of hardened lumps or crusts, which ordinarily have to be removed by hammering the drum or. dislodging them with a chisel or other tool.

Again it sometimes happens that the mixer is used, with or without the charging hopper,

under conditions which make it desirable to feed the different aggregates tothe mixer separately or by workmenI who follow this practice, and with the improvements herein described these separate aggregates cannot become segregated, but must very quickly become intermingled in a thorough and evenly mixed batch. rlhe effective mixing of the aggregates without unnecessaryaggitation is also of great importance for t e from which the same is dis-l to the axis of rotation,

reason that air pockets (are. thus avoided.

This objectionable `feature is a serious one 1n mixes of certain conslstency, and artlcu-v larly in acter. l y

What l claim is: 1. In a concrete mixer the combination of a revoluble drum quick setting mixes of suc .charprovided with an opening' at one end for the admissionofI materials to be mixedand an opening at the other end for the discharge of the'mixed materials, blades extending from the charging end of the drum toward the opposite end obliquel other blades exten ing from 'a oint near the, discharge end toward the clihrging endand disposed in a direction approximately perpendicular to the first named blades and relatively parallel to the periphery of the drum, and other blades disposed partly in a zone coincident with all of the other blades and converging toward a point between the medial portion 3f said blades and the discharge end of the rum.

y 2. In a concrete mixer the combination of a revoluble drum provided with a charging opening at one end and a discharge opening at the other end, lifting pockets secured inside the drum and revolving therewith, blades disposed at an angle tothe axis 4of rotation of the drum and extending from one end toward thesa'id lifting pockets, and' other blades disposed with one side approx'l" mately parallel to the shell of the drum and 'at an angle to the second named blades, said blades spaced from said shell and having portions inclined toward the charging head of the drum, in the line of discharge of the pockets and directing materials falling from said pockets toward the head of the drum from which the other blades extend.

In a concretel mixer the combination of a revoluble drum provided with a charging opening at one end and a discharge opening at the other end, lifting pockets secured inside the drum and revolving therewith, blades disposed at an angle to the axis of rotation of the drum and extending from the discharge end-toward the said lifting pockets, and other blades disposed intermediate the ends of the drum with one side approximately yparallel to the shell of the drum and at an angle to the second named blades, said blades having portions inclined toward the charging head of the drum, in the line of discharge of the pockets and directing materials falling from said pockets toward the charging head of the drum, said last named'blades being mounted in a position removed from the shell of the drum and between the said shell and the longitudinal axis of the drum.

4. The combination of a hollow drum provided with charging and discharging openings in its respective heads, lifting blades reextending from the discharging opening to-f ward the charging opening'and curved in moved from the charging head, other blades inclined from 'the charging head toward the said' lifting blades, the former adapted to Iift'the materials andthe latter'to pass the materials in the direction of the' former, and other blades disposed approximately flatwise at an angle to a part of the two said blades and approximately in the line ofdischarge of the lifting blades and inclined toward the charging opening.

5. The combination of a revoluble cylinr` deror drum provided with ahead having a charging opening and a head@ having a discharge opening, blades mounted .in said drum extending along the inner surface thereof from the charging opening toward the discharging opening on lines oblique tothe axis, other blades mounted therein and termediate their ehd's to form liftingpockets or scoops, a portion of thesaid two sets of blades being disposed edgewise on sub lstantially radial lines, and a third set of blades extending between points intermedi ate the vtwo openings and crossing the yzone of a portion of the two first named sets of blades, said last named blades havinga portion of their surfaces disposed substantially parallel with the axis but inclined toward the charging opening.

6. The combination of a revoluble cylinder v or drum provided with a head having a charging opening and a head having a discharge opening, blades mounted in said drum extending along the inner surface thereof from the charging opening toward the ldischarging opening on lines oblique to the axis, other blades mounted therein and extending from the discharging opening toward the charging opening and curved intermediate their ends to formlifting pockets ory scoops, a portion ofthe said two sets of bladesbeing disposed'edgewise on substantially radial lines, and a third set of blades extending betweenpoints intermediate the two openings and crossing the zone of a portion of the two 4first named sets of blades, said last named blades having a portion of their surfaces .disposed substantially parallel with the axis but inclined toward the charging opening, the third named blades being spaced from the shell of the drum and radially within a portion of the other blades, whereby the materialsdirected by them toward the charging opening are passed over materials moving- .in the opposite direction.

7. The combination of a drum, blades extending on approximately radial lines from one head of the vdrum toward the opposite head and in a direction angular to the axis of rotation of said drum, other blades also substantially radial to the axis extending from the other head of the drum toward the first named head and a third set of blades A mounted approximately parallel tothe por- -tion of the drum intermediate the heads and proximately flatwise in the lower part of the drum and are deflected and directed against materials adjacent to the first named blades.

8. The combination of adrum, blades -extending on approximately radial lines from one head' of the drum toward the opposite head and in a direction angular to the axis of rotation of said drum, other blades also substantially radial to the axis.extending from the other head of the drum toward the first named head and a third set of blades mounted approximately parallel to the portion of the drum intermediate the heads and intercepting the radii thereof and located in a part of the zone occupied by the two first named blades and spaced from the said intermediate portion of the drum, whereby materials carried up by one of the first named blades on Vfalling therefrom strike the last named blades approximately fiatwise in the lower part of the drum and are defiected and directed against materials adjacent to the first named blades.

9. In a device of the character described, the combination with a revoluble drum, of blades extending on lines substantially oblique to the axis of rotation thereof from proximity to both heads thereof and other blades located intermediate the heads of the drum and in a zone in which portions of the first named blades are located,l said last named blades having` a portion disposed substantially edgewise to the heads of the drum and varranged to intercept materials falling from said first blades above the bottom of said drum flatwise and to divert a portion of said fallin@ materials in the direction of one head ofs the drum.

10. In a device of the character described the combination with a revoluble drum, o blades extending on lines substantially' oblique to the axis of rotation thereof from proximity to both heads thereof and other blades located intermediate the heads and within the inner surface of the drum and in a zone in which portions of the first named blades are located, said last named blades having a portion disposed substantially edgewise to the heads of the drum and arranged to intercept materials falling from said first blade above the bottom of said drum flatwise and to divert a portion of said falling materials in the direction of one head of the drum, while permitting a portion of the materials moved by the said first blades to pass beneath them.

11. In a device for mixing concrete or the like, the combination of a hollow drum provided with openings at its ends and mounted to rotate on an axis extending through said openings, blades mounted within said drum constructed and arranged to move materials toward and from the said openings, comprising a blade having a surface approximately perpendicular to the radii of the drum and located between the openings of the drum and spaced from the portion of Athe drum between the said openings.

- 12. In a device for mixing concrete or the like, the combination of a hollow drum provided with openings at its ends and mounted to rotate on an axis extending through said openings, blades mounted Within said Vdrum constructed and arranged to move materials toward and from the said openings,

comprising a blade having a surface approximately perpendicular to the radii of the drum and located between the openings of the drum and spaced from the portion of the drumbetween the said openings, the said blade occupying the same zone with portions of other blades and the said other blades extending between them and the said part of the drum, whereby materials are moved towardwone of the heads beneath said surface and materials falling from the upper part of the drum are deflected by the said surface to another zone between it and an opening of the d1-um.

Witness my hand this 4th day of April, 1916, at the city of New York, in the county and State of New York.

' ARTHUR WILFRID RANSOME. 

